Butterfly Girl

Being published by EK Books, I was immediately interested in reading this book as they produce such beautiful publications. This one did not disappoint.  The gorgeous illustrations match the story perfectly - in the countryside, where there are butterflies and nature around, the illustrations are colourful and uplifting, whereas the city pictures are dull, bland and boring.  One of my favourite images is of the apartment block once Olivia has transformed her colourless balcony into an oasis for butterflies - the only balcony with any colour in the grey block.  The contrast is very apparent.

The descriptive language used about the butterflies is very cheery - "rainbows of butterflies" and "they danced and whirled, and fluttered and twirled" which matches Olivia's feelings about the butterflies.

At the end of the book are five informative instructions on how to create a butterfly garden and adults may learn something from this too.  I didn't know that butterflies like to drink water from mud pools as it contains salt and minerals that they need.

This book will be enjoyed by children purely for their own pleasure, but for teachers wishing to explore it in their classrooms, there are extensive teacher notes available.